Thursday, October 29, 2015

When I think back over my life, I can honestly say I've always wanted to be creative and work with ideas that would allow me that priviledge. I can remember being about 14 years old or so and asking my Mom if I could wallpaper my bedroom. She said "yes" as she always did, when I asked for something. So without delay, we headed over to the hardware store and bought some wallpaper that was pink with flowers! I guess that explains why one of my favorite colors is pink! I worked hard at wallpapering my room so that I could make my Mom proud of me. You can only imagine what my walls looked like after I finished...lol! Little did I know, that was the authentic me beginning to shine through!Even at that young age, I knew that I loved arts and crafts. I was the first person to participate when it came to making bean pictures, tissue wreaths, decoupaging and crocheting projects. To this very day, I absolutely love crafts. That was a big motivator for me when creating Loft101.net and I am still a "master crafter!" I call myself that because I've been making things since I was 10 years old, so that's a lot of years to spend doing something but loving that something that I do so well. Before I totally understood "me", I knew I loved being creative. That's interesting to me because there are a lot of things I'm not sure about but I never needed reassurance on what my passion was. I've known almost "forever", what my gift is and what I'm good at.

Being my authentic self is doing what I love and doing what pleases me inside and out. I am at my very best when I am my true self. How blessed I am to be halfway through my life and able to say, "I am truly being my authentic self!!" I'm grateful that I have taken my passion and developed a blog site that is beginning to be talked about and getting more viewer traffic now than it ever has. Yes, I still have much work to do but knowing that I can share by being my authentic self, really feels good!

"Love what you do. Live your grandest life. Wear your gift well and be your authentic self because that's what looks good on you."

Monday, October 26, 2015

The month of October will come to an end on this coming Saturday but the fight to support breast cancer will not. I do my very best to support anything that I can for breast cancer. It's important to me and when I created Loft101.net, I knew I would also allow a platform to share on the awareness of breast cancer. As I closeout LoftTalk @ Loft101.net for October, I am pleased, overjoyed and honored to share a story from a young lady that I recently met at my church, New Psalmist Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD. She is my sister in Christ and this story of her experience with breast cancer will touch you in a way that you will remember long after reading this post. She is the Spotlightcontributor this month at Loft101.net and I am pleased to share her story. Nia Foggy won her battle with breast cancer and that's why the message of her story is: "I win."

Please continue to support the fight for Breast Cancer and share the awareness. Tell everyone you know to please log onto Loft101.netto read Nia's story and please leave her comments to let her know how much you appreciate her sharing her experience. You can leave a comment at the very bottom of this post where it says "Please Leave a Comment for Deb and Join In To Share!"I'll make sure she sees every one of your comments and I'm sure she willwant to respond to each of you!

"Thanks Nia" for sharing, so unselfishly!Loft101.net appreciates you.

"You are truly Awesome!"

"I WIN" MY JOURNEY WITH BREAST CANCER

BY NIA

My journey with breast cancer began in March 2014. I
discovered a small, bead like ball in my right breast one day and thought to
myself "this is odd." With a paternal
family history of breast cancer, I decided to see a doctor to have the
tissue removed. A couple days later I listened to a voice mail from my surgeon
instructing me to call him and I knew it was not good news. When I heard his
words "there are cancer cells present in the tissue", I immediately
felt fear, began to cry, and thought this is it! I asked the doctor to bring my
husband into the room so I wasn't alone. We were both so shocked to hear this
news, especially since I was so young (30 years old). I then went through a
series of tests/surgeries. Cancer treatment is certainly a process and I wanted
it to be completed quickly. I had a lumpectomy, four lymph nodes removed, CT
scans, chemotherapy, radiation, and a final lumpectomy.

I
was so scared to lose my hair from chemotherapy. I was more concerned about
that loss than the treatment itself. This was because I had absolutely no clue
the effects chemotherapy would present. The side effects of chemotherapy were
absolutely devastating. I wouldn't wish chemo on my worst enemy. Just imagine being
so weak that you have to struggle to get out of the bed, move your two feet, walk steps and try to speak. That was me and I felt terrible. I received treatments every three weeks. The
second week was the worst because that's when I felt the side effects the most.
My hair began to fall out during the second week of my first round of
treatments. My husband shaved my head for me.

At
the time, it seemed as though treatment would never end. After looking back,
God walked me through nine months of cancer treatments and it went extremely
fast. The staff at Maryland Oncology in Columbia were the best. I am forever
indebted for their support and care. Today I am cancer free!"I win!"

At the beginning
of my journey, my father told me "you're body is going to do what your
mind tells it." From that point I began to write positive affirmations
around my home to keep a hopeful outlook on my journey. Cancer was a blessing.
It has changed my outlook on life and caused me to be more appreciative of life. To all of my
"pink sisters" still fighting, I pray that you find the Lord working
around you. Stay strong even though you feel the weakest. This too shall pass
and there is a purpose in your journey.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

With so much happening, so fast, in my life lately {all good of course!}, I have been a month behind with posting on LoftTalk @ Loft101.net (so sorry)! Time is moving so quickly and here we are, already in the middle of the month of October. Today, I'm playing "catch up with Deb" and sharing on a LoftTalk contribution for September and next week for the OctoberLoftTalk, I will be sharing a moving story from a breast cancer survivor and my sister in Christ, Nia Foggy.Loft101.net will Spotlight "Breast Cancer Awareness" for October's LoftTalk and you will be touched by this contributor and the way that she unselfishly shares her experience.

Well, as I play catch up real quick, I was inspired to share some "tray tips" with you since Loft101.net was chosen as a "favorite blog" by One Kings Lane a few months ago. Loft101.net participated in the One Kings Lane "Tray Chic" Campaign and the first photo up top is the tray I created for the One Kings Lane campaign. I loved creating this idea so much, that I decided to share some ideas with you on my blog about

"chic ways to use trays."

Try it out. Be creative and enjoy serving others in a special way. It's an awesome way to "refresh" the moment too!

Friday, October 16, 2015

This DIY is so easy, you can literally follow the photos! I transformed a simple metal magazine rack into a message board of positive thinking. I try my best to stay upbeat and encouraged about my dreams, ideas and desires. I'm a personal enrichment coach in training and I aim to keep people inspired to chase their dreams!

So, with that said, I am so proud of this DIY embellishment for the reasons that I mention and primarily because this item is still very functional as a magazine rack. I've just embellished it with empowering words. Try it out and display words that create a positive environment for you and your guests that will "experience" your project...lol! They will love it and trust me, it will become a conversation piece. I purchased the magazine rack from Home Goods. The chalkboard tiles came from Michael's Craft Store and the alphabet knobs are from TJ Maxx. Use round magnet pieces and Super Elmer's Glue to secure magnets to the tiles. Too easy, right? Add your magazines and it's a "simplicity success." Have fun and enjoy! This a fun project for anyone and everyone!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

"My LOFT101.net Office is my sanctuary that I run to when I need to be with me, for me. This is who I am."

I'm shaping things up for the fall season by getting more organized and I'm starting with my Loft101.net Office. Just when I thought I was done, I realized how much of a mess I had made of my closet space. It literally became a catch-all for everything! I purchased some clear craft bins and a large wooden craft cabinet which I absolutely love! Check out my work! Loft101.net Headquarters is looking good. I've de-cluttered my shelves and have organized everything just perfectly for working on my projects. I've added another desk that is actually functional now :-)! It holds my journals, pencils, pens, staplers, in-box and file folders that I use on a daily basis. I picked up a chic, contemporary end table that sets the room off and fits well with my pull-out futon couch/bed.

I now have a convenient place for my Wasi tapes too! I've separated all of them from my other ribbons/bows and they now have a home on the dowels that are included on my gift wrap hutch. I absolutely love this hutch and the convenience it provides for creating all of my ideas & creations I share with you. I've also created a small photography corner where I now have my camera and tripods set up. My "vision floor standing frame" that I re-created a few posts ago, has also found a home in this corner, as I begin to use this floor frame as the perfect backdrop for building on my vision as a blogger and Personal Enrichment Coach! I also keep my antique white display stand nearby that I use when I mobile train, do workshops and need to set up my Loft101.net shop at offsite locations.

Lastly, "I'm in love" with what I call my "Alice In Wonderland" craft armoire. This was a functional find that truly found me...lol! I was shopping in Home Goods for something totally different and out in the aisle, there it was, the perfect piece of functional furniture I needed to complete my home office. I am able to store all of my camera accessories in here as well as my "things I need now" stuff that I often use. It was so worth the cost (a little expensive, but worth it)...lol!

I hope you will enjoy the tour of my newly refreshed home office and here's some organizing tips that may help you get your home office in shape too!

Home Office Organizing Tips

Purchase decorative hat boxes, square, flat, large or small boxes from Home Goods, Marshalls, Michaels Craft Store, TJ Maxx or JoAnne Fabrics. They are functional props and pretty too!

Purchase office furniture that not only fits in with your décor but that also provides functionality. At the end of the day you want to be organized. Pretty is only nice when its purposeful!

Use all of the space you have available. Stack boxes on top of each other, safely! If you have high ceilings, utilize the height, sensibly of course and by doing this you leave additional space in length, to store more items.

Purchase props like "dressmaker forms". These props are not just for sewing hobbyists. These props can be useful for hanging other things on such as tags, ribbons and other small accessories. Push pins are the perfect match for dress forms!

Try using a corner desk if your room lends itself to this idea because corner desks save a tremendous amount of space in a room and provide a nice view, if near a window.

Use tools that are convenient and equipped to hold certain accessories. I use craft paints all of the time and found that I purchased so many, I actually needed a holder of some sort. The one pictured, is perfect for my craft paints and sits on a turnstile, so that feature also provides additional convenience.

Use clear boxes to store your items. This provides a "quick glance" of what you need before physically pulling the box off the shelf. Labels are also another addition to organizing that can help with a "quick glance!"

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I'm Deb Ramsey. I absolutely love to decorate and ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed dabbling into anything that involved being creative and original. I'm a wife, mother, writer, blogger, certified interior decorator, craft enthusiast, industry consultant, certified logistics analyst and simply a fan of introducing new things in life! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to LOFT101!